Everybody has a theory on Tribe's attendance woes, but does anyone have an answer?

The NBA is a superstar-driven league.The NFL is a quarterback-driven league.Major League Baseball is driven by tradition.There are few true superstars in baseball. Derek Jeter and the now-disgraced Alex Rodriguez are the first to come to mind, followed by … Bryce Harper? Miguel Cabrera? Albert Pujols? Mike Trout? Justin Verlander? David Ortiz? Stephen Strasburg?If you read this Klout list of the most influential athletes, you have to go to the second page to find the first baseball player — Ortiz at No. 25. (In fairness, Jeter would have been much higher than Ortiz, but he's not on Twitter and his only Facebook account appears to be run by his charitable foundation.)The Indians — maybe you've heard about their attendance problems — don't have a player in the top 30 in MLB in batting, home runs, RBI or OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).“The Indians, for the casual fan, their lineup is boring,” said Adam “the Bull” Gerstenhaber, a co-host of the Bull & Fox show on WKRK-FM, 92.3. “They don't hit home runs, they don't have sluggers. Jason Kipnis is a nice player, but he's not a superstar.“These other teams all have sluggers,” Gerstenhaber continued. “The Indians don't have that guy. They don't have that guy who drags you into the ballpark — that Miguel Cabrera, that Derek Jeter.”Kipnis is the Tribe's batting leader at .280 (Yan Gomes and Ryan Raburn don't have enough at-bats to qualify), which ranks 59th in baseball.Kipnis is the RBI leader at 78 (no one else on the Tribe has more than 67). He is tied for 31st in MLB in that category.Nick Swisher paces the Indians in home runs with 20 — good for a tie for 48th in baseball.

Carlos Santana is second on the Tribe with 18 homers, followed by Kipnis (17), Raburn (16 in 210 at-bats) and Mark Reynolds (15), who hasn't played for the Indians since Aug. 4.Does the “boring” lineup affect attendance?When I met with Tribe president Mark Shapiro last week for a Crain's story on the Tribe's struggles at the gate, I asked him if having a superstar gives a baseball team a meaningful increase in attendance.“There have not been a lot of studies on it,” Shapiro said. “There are very few superstars, like a Jeter or people like that, who may boost attendance. For the most part, you've got to win. If you win with a superstar, that might have an escalator. If you lose with a superstar, then you're probably still not going to draw very well. I think you need to make the decisions to win and not worry about the decisions in player personnel that might draw attendance. Winning will be the single biggest lever to increase attendance.”For the Tribe (81-69 and a half-game out in the American League wild-card race), that obviously hasn't been the case.There is bitterness from days gone by — a lot of it, in fact.“We discussed that topic for two hours on the show (Thursday, Sept. 5),” said Tony Rizzo, host of “The Really Big Show” on WKNR-AM, 850. “People aren't going to the games, but they couldn't wait to tell me why. We ended the thing at two hours, but we could've done it for six. The underlying theme I have gathered for the last couple weeks is fans are holding a grudge, for whatever reason. The reason for the grudge is different for everybody, but the grudge theme is the same.“Many people brought up trading Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia, which is baffling to me,” Rizzo continued. “Some mentioned the failures from the last two years. Not having a star player was a big topic. I even heard, say you what you want, but at least they had Grady Sizemore, even though he had like two good years. Some still hold a grudge against the Dolans. Not being able to put a winner on the field. Not spending money to put a winner on the field. All of those are reasons they hold a grudge.”Adam “the Bull” also brought up the Lee and Sabathia trades, along with a Cleveland sports allegiance that often is dominated by another team in town — one that is 23-59 since 2008.“I think it's due to a lot of different reasons,” Gerstenhaber said of the Indians' 28th-ranked attendance. “In no particular order, No. 1, there is not the level of loyalty that there is to the Browns. The fans here have this blind faith to the Browns and to some degree keep believing in them. The Indians have had more success than the Browns. The NFL, because of the salary cap, every team thinks they have a chance. When it comes to the Indians, the fans have no faith.”The Bull's solution — another offseason spending spree by the Indians.“I think the only way to really get fans (to come to the games) ... it's going to be very hard,” Gerstenhaber said. “The team will have to blow us away in the offseason — raise the payroll by $20, 30 million — I mean blow us away. Get an ace pitcher, get a superstar, and then win. Be in first place, get to the playoffs, and maybe the year after that it will build.”

The Indians aren't going to spend $30 million in the offseason, but they can make the playoffs in 2013, which should provide at least a small box-office jolt in 2014.As for this year, Rizzo brought up an interesting question.What will happen if the Tribe is the AL's top wild-card team and earns the right to host a one-game playoff on Wednesday, Oct. 2? “Something that was discussed (on “The Really Big Show”): If we have a one-game playoff for the wild card here, would they not sell out the stadium?” Rizzo said. “That would be baffling.”

Little things mean a lot to Browns

At some point, the Browns have to send a clear message to Greg Little.The wide receiver, as you probably know, received three traffic violations early Monday morning in the Flats.One of Little's infractions was driving with a suspended license — a month after he was arrested for speeding with expired plates.In April, he crashed his Audi while driving 127 mph.That's enough to warrant punishment.Factor in the timing involved in Little's most recent arrest — in the Flats, at 1 a.m., after a game in which he dropped three passes — and it only looks worse for the wideout who racked up 93 parking tickets with five vehicles at the University of North Carolina.Benching Little for traffic violations might seem ridiculously harsh.Considering that nothing else has seemed to work, maybe it's a necessary step.You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, but not a breakdown of which vehicles driven by Little have received the most parking violations.

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